


































Glass 

Book 







State of Connecticut 


Laws 

Concerning Corrupt Prac¬ 
tices at Elections, Cau¬ 
cuses and Primaries 



Hartford, Conn. 
Published by the State 





Publication 
Approved by 
The Board of Control. 


D. of 

MAY 25 1916 



The Case. Lockwood & Brainard Co. 



CHAPTER 253 OF THE PUBLIC 
ACTS OF 1909 AS AMENDED 
BY CHAPTER 243 OF THE 
PUBLIC ACTS OF 1911. 

Concerning Corrupt Practices 
at Elections, Caucuses 
and Primaries. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
Representatives in General Assem¬ 
bly convened: 

Section i. Provisions to apply to 
election of certain officers. Except as 
otherwise provided by law, the pro¬ 
visions of this act shall apply to the 
election of all officers for whom ballots 
shall be cast, to the election of all offi¬ 
cers to be voted for by the general 
assembly, by the board of aldermen or 
the common council of any city, by the 
warden and burgesses of any borough, 
to all. caucuses and primary elections 
preliminary to any such election, to 
school district elections, and, except 
3 


4 


as hereinafter provided, to all candi¬ 
dates to be voted for at such elections, 
caucuses, and primary elections. The 
term “ caucuses and primary elec¬ 
tions ” shall include: (a) all meetings 
and elections held to nominate a candi¬ 
date for office or to elect delegates to a 
nominating convention; (b) nominat¬ 
ing conventions of such delegates; and 
(c) caucuses of members of the general 
assembly, of the board of aldermen or 
common council of any city, and of the 
warden and burgesses of any borough. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. The term “ po¬ 
litical committee ” shall include every 
committee or combination of three or 
more persons to aid or promote the 
success or defeat of any political party 
or principle in any election or to aid or 
to take part in the nomination or elec¬ 
tion of any candidate for public office. 
The term “ treasurer ” shall include 
all persons appointed by any political 
committee to receive or disburse 
moneys to aid or promote the success 
or defeat of any such party, principle, 
or candidate. The term “ political 
agent ” shall include all persons ap¬ 
pointed by any candidate, before any 
such election, caucus, or primary 
election, to assist him in his candidacy. 


5 


No person shall act as any such 
treasurer or political agent unless, 
after his appointment and before the 
caucus, primary, or election for which 
he is appointed, a writing designating 
him as such treasurer or political 
agent, shall be filed with the secretary 
of the state, except that, in case the 
duties of such treasurer or political 
agent shall relate to any town, city, 
ward, borough, or school district elec¬ 
tion exclusively, or to any caucus or 
primary election preliminary thereto, 
such writing shall be filed with the 
town clerk of the town within which 
such candidate resides instead of with 
said secretary of the state. Every such 
writing shall designate the particular 
period, election, caucus, or primary 
election during which such treasurer- 
ship or political agency shall continue. 
Nothing in this act shall prevent the 
treasurer or political agent of any 
organization or candidate from being 
the treasurer or political agent of any 
other organization or candidate, and 
any candidate for public office may 
designate himself as his own political 
agent. 

Sec. 3. Payment of money to be 
made to political agents or treasurers. 

Any person nominated as a candidate 


6 


for public office, or a candidate for 
such nomination, may make a volun¬ 
tary payment of money to any treas¬ 
urer or political agent for any of the 
purposes permitted by this act; pro¬ 
vided, however, that no person other 
than such a candidate shall, to promote 
the success or defeat of any political 
party or principle, or of any candidate 
for public office, or of any candidate 
for any nomination, within six months 
prior to any such election, make a con¬ 
tribution of money or property, or 
incur any liability, or promise any 
valuable thing to any person other 
than to a treasurer or political agent. 
Nothing contained in this act shall 
limit or affect the right of any person 
to expend money for proper legal ex¬ 
penses in maintaining or contesting the 
results of any election. 

Sec. 4. Limitation of election ex¬ 
penses. No person other than a treas¬ 
urer or political agent shall pay any of 
the expenses of any election, caucus, 
or primary election, except that a can¬ 
didate may pay his own expenses for 
postage, telegrams, telephoning, sta¬ 
tionery, printing, the advertising in or 
distribution of newspapers being ex¬ 
cepted, expressage, and traveling; but 
the provisions of this section shall not 


7 


apply to non-partisan election and 
ante-election expenses paid out of the 
public moneys of the state or of any 
town, city, or other municipality. No 
contributions or payments or favors of 
any kind shall be made or offered by, 
or solicited from any private corpo¬ 
ration to promote the success or defeat 
of any candidate for public office or of 
any political party or principle, or for 
any other political purpose. 

Sworn statements to be filed by can¬ 
didates within fifteen days. Every 
candidate for public office, except a 
candidate for the office of justice of the 
peace, grand juror, constable, bailiff, 
tree warden, or auditor, but including 
candidates for the office of senator in 
the congress of the United States, 
shall, within fifteen days after the elec¬ 
tion at which he was a candidate, file 
with the secretary of the state, if a 
candidate for senator or representative 
in congress, or any state, county, or 
probate office, or state senator, but 
with the town clerk of the town in 
which he resides if he was a candidate 
for representative in the general assem¬ 
bly, or for a town, city, ward, borough, 
or school district office, an itemized 
sworn statement, setting forth in de¬ 
tail all the moneys contributed, ex- 


8 


pended, or promised by him to aid and 
promote his nomination or election, or 
both, as the case may be, or for any 
other political purpose, and all existing 
unfulfilled promises or liabilities in 
that connection remaining uncanceled 
and in force at the time such state¬ 
ment is made, whether such expendi¬ 
tures, promises, or liabilities were made 
or incurred before, during, or after 
such election. If no money or other 
valuable thing was given, paid, ex¬ 
pended, contributed, or promised, and 
no unfulfilled liabilities were incurred 
by a candidate for public office to aid 
or promote his nomination or election, 
or for any political purpose, he shall, 
within fifteen days after the election 
at which he was a candidate, file a 
statement to that effect. Any candi¬ 
date who shall fail to file such a state¬ 
ment within the time required shall be 
fined twenty-five dollars for every day 
on which he is in default, unless he 
shall be excused by the court. Twenty 
days after any such election the secre¬ 
tary of the state or the town clerk, as 
the case may be, shall notify the proper 
prosecuting officer of any failure to file 
such a statement on the part of any 
candidate, or treasurer, or agent, and 
within ten days thereafter such prose- 


9 


cuting officer shall proceed to prose¬ 
cute for such offense. Every unsuc¬ 
cessful candidate for nomination for 
any public office, candidates for which 
are hereinbefore required to file state¬ 
ments, shall, if he knew of such candi¬ 
dacy, file with the proper officer, within 
fifteen days after the election at which 
candidates for the office for nomination 
for which he was a candidate were 
voted for, such an itemized sworn 
statement as is hereinbefore required 
of candidates for public office, and if 
he fails so to do he shall be fined 
twenty-five dollars for each day on 
which he is in default, unless he shall 
be excused by the court. The secre¬ 
tary of the state or the town clerk, as 
the case may be, shall give the same 
notification of failure to file statements 
of candidates for nomination, and 
prosecuting officers shall proceed 
thereon, as provided in the case of 
candidates for office. 

Limitation of payments and expendi¬ 
tures of candidates, outside of personal 
expenditures. The payments, expendi¬ 
tures, promises, and liabilities which 
any candidate for nomination to any 
public office, except senator of the 
United States, may make or incur, di¬ 
rectly or indirectly in aid of such nom- 


10 


ination, exclusive of the personal ex¬ 
penditures specifically mentioned in 
this section, shall not exceed in 
the whole ten dollars for each one 
thousand (or major portion thereof) 
registered voters who voted at the last 
preceding election for the candidate 
of the same political party and for the 
office for which such candidate seeks 
a nomination. The payments, ex¬ 
penditures, promises, and liabilities 
which any candidate for election to any 
public office, except senator of the 
United States, may make or incur, 
directly or indirectly, in aid of such 
election, exclusive of the personal ex¬ 
penditures specifically mentioned in 
this section, shall not exceed in the 
whole fifteen dollars for each one thou¬ 
sand (or major portion thereof) regis¬ 
tered voters qualified to vote for the 
office in question at the next preceding 
election, except that such candidate 
may expend twenty-five dollars for 
such purposes. The payments, ex¬ 
penditures, promises, and liabilities 
which any candidate for senator of the 
United States may make or incur, di¬ 
rectly or indirectly, in aid of the nom¬ 
ination or election, or both, shall not 
exceed one-third of the salary of said 
office for one year. 


11 


Sec. 5. Payments that may law¬ 
fully be made by treasurer or political 
agent. It shall be lawful for any 
treasurer or political agent, in connec¬ 
tion with any election, caucus, or 
primary election, to pay the following 
expenses: (a) of hiring public halls 
and music for political meetings, fur¬ 
nishing music, uniforms, banners, or 
fireworks for political clubs or public 
parades, and advertising such meet¬ 
ings or parades; (b) of printing and 
circulating political newspapers, pam¬ 
phlets, and books; (c) of printing and 
distributing ballots and pasters; (d) 
of renting rooms to be used by political 
committees; (e) of compensating clerks 
and other persons employed in com¬ 
mittee rooms and at the polls, and of 
furnishing reasonable entertainment to 
such persons necessarily employed in 
committee rooms and at the polls, and 
to members of political committees of 
the same political party to which such 
political agent or treasurer shall be¬ 
long; provided, however, that the 
word “ entertainment ” shall not be 
construed to include alcoholic or in¬ 
toxicating beverages; (f) for the travel 
of political agents, committees, and 
public speakers, and reasonable com¬ 
pensation to public speakers; (g) of 


12 


necessary postage, telegrams, telephon¬ 
ing, printing, and express charges; 
(h) of preparing, circulating, and fil¬ 
ing petitions for nomination; (i) of 
conveyance of electors to the polls. No 
treasurer, candidate, or political agent 
shall incur any expense or liability or 
make any payment for any purpose 
not authorized by this act, and every 
liability incurred and payment made 
shall be at the rate which is proper 
and reasonable and fairly commensu¬ 
rate with the service rendered. 

Sec. 6. Sworn statement to be filed 
by treasurer or political agent within 
fifteen days after election. Within 
fifteen days after any such election, 
every treasurer and every political 
agent shall file an itemized sworn state¬ 
ment with the officer with whom his 
designation was filed as aforesaid, 
which statement shall include the 
amount of money or property in each 
case received or promised, the name of 
the person from whom it was received 
or by whom it was promised, the 
amount of every expenditure made or 
liability incurred, and the name of the 
person to whom such expenditure or 
promise was made, and shall clearly 
state the purpose for which such money 
or property was so expended or prom- 


13 


ised, separating the expenditures for 
caucuses, primaries, and elections. If 
any money or property has been re¬ 
ceived from or has been paid, given, or 
promised to or by any person who was 
a candidate for any office, or a political 
treasurer, the title of the office which 
said person holds or for which he was 
a candidate shall be plainly given in 
the statement hereinbefore provided 
for. Any treasurer or political agent 
who shall fail to file such statement 
within the time required shall be fined 
twenty-five dollars for each day on 
which he is in default, unless he shall 
be excused by the court. Twenty days 
after any election the secretary of the 
state or the town clerk, as the case 
may be, shall notify the proper prose¬ 
cuting officer of any failure on the part 
of any treasurer or political agent to 
file such statement, and within ten 
days thereafter such prosecuting officer 
shall proceed to prosecute for such 
offense. 

Sec. 7. Examination and preserva¬ 
tion of statements. The secretary of 
the state or the town clerk, as the 
case may be, shall endorse with his 
approval all reports required by this 
act to be filed with him which shall 


14 


be found to conform to the provisions 
of this act, and shall return reports 
which do not so conform, for correc¬ 
tion, allowing a reasonable time for 
such correction, at the expiration of 
which time, if the reports are not so 
corrected, he shall give notice of such 
neglect to the proper prosecuting offi¬ 
cer. All statements filed in accordance 
with the provisions of this act shall be 
preserved for fifteen months after the 
election to which they relate, and shall, 
during said period, be open to public 
inspection. Every town clerk not re¬ 
ceiving a salary shall be entitled to re¬ 
ceive from the town the sum of ten 
cents for each report endorsed by him 
as required by the provisions of this 
section. 

Sec. 8. Attorney-general to prepare 
and secretary of state to furnish blank 
forms. The attorney-general shall pre¬ 
pare forms for all statements required 
to be returned under the provisions of 
this act, and the secretary of the state 
shall, at the expense of the state, print 
all such blank forms, and shall furnish 
to each town clerk a sufficient supply 
of each of such blank forms as are 
herein required to be filed with or re¬ 
turned to the town clerk. The secre¬ 
tary of the state and the town clerk of 


15 


each town shall, within two days after 
any election for which political agents 
or treasurers are required to make re¬ 
turns, mail to such agents and treas¬ 
urers a proper blank form to be filled 
out and returned, and every town clerk 
not receiving a salary shall be entitled 
to receive from the town the sum of 
ten cents for each copy of such form 
so mailed by him. 

Sec. 9. Corrupt Practices. The 
following persons shall be guilty of 
corrupt practices and shall be pun¬ 
ished in accordance with the provi¬ 
sions of this act: (a) every person who 
shall, directly or indirectly, by himself 
or by another, give or offer or promise 
to any person any money, gift, advan¬ 
tage, preferment, entertainment, aid, 
emolument, or any valuable thing 
whatever for the purpose of inducing 
or procuring any person to vote or 
refrain from voting for or against any 
person or for or against any measure 
at any election, caucus, convention, 
primary election, or general assembly; 
(b) every person who shall, directly or 
indirectly, receive, accept, request, or 
solicit from any person, committee, 
association, organization, or corpora¬ 
tion, any money, gift, advantage, pre- 


16 


ferment, aid, emolument, or any valu¬ 
able thing whatever, for the purpose 
of inducing or procuring any person 
to vote or refrain from voting for or 
against any person or for or against 
any measure at any such election, cau¬ 
cus, primary election, or general assem¬ 
bly; (c) every person who, in consid¬ 
eration of any money, gift, advantage, 
preferment, aid, emolument, or any 
valuable thing whatever, paid, received, 
accepted, or promised to the advan¬ 
tage of himself or any other person, 
shall vote or refrain from voting for or 
against any person or for or against 
any measure at any such election, cau¬ 
cus, or primary election; (d) every 
person, other than the political com¬ 
mittees known as the national, con¬ 
gressional, state, town, city, ward, and 
borough committees, who shall solicit 
from any candidate for the office of 
elector of president and vice-president 
of the United States, of senator of the 
United States, of representative in con¬ 
gress, or of any state, county, probate, 
town, city, ward, borough, or school 
district office, any money, gift, contri¬ 
bution, emolument, or other valuable 
thing for the purpose of using the same 
for the support, assistance, benefit, or 
expenses of any club, company, or 


17 


organization, or for the purpose of 
defraying the cost or expenses of any 
political campaign or election; (e) 
every person who shall, directly or in¬ 
directly, pay, give, contribute, or prom¬ 
ise any money or other valuable thing 
to defray or towards defraying the cost 
or expenses of any campaign or elec¬ 
tion to any person, committee, com¬ 
pany, club, organization, or associa¬ 
tion, other than to a treasurer or a 
political agent, but this provision shall 
not apply to any expenses for postage, 
telegrams, telephoning, stationery, 
printing, expressage, or traveling in¬ 
curred by any candidate for office or 
for nomination thereto, so far as may 
be permitted under the provisions of 
this act; (f) every person who, in order 
to secure or promote his own nomina¬ 
tion or election as a candidate for pub¬ 
lic office, or that of any other person, 
shall, directly or indirectly, promise to 
appoint, or promise to secure or assist 
in securing the appointment, nomina¬ 
tion, or election of any other person 
to any public position, or to any posi¬ 
tion of honor, trust, or emolument; 
provided, however, that any person 
may publicly announce his own choice 
or purpose in relation to any appoint¬ 
ment, nomination, or election in which 
2 


18 


he may be called to take part, if he 
shall be nominated for or elected to 
any public office; (g) every person 
who shall, directly or indirectly, by 
himself or through another person, 
make a payment or promise of pay¬ 
ment to a treasurer or political agent 
in any other name than his own, and 
every treasurer or political agent who 
shall knowingly receive a payment or 
promise of payment, or enter or cause 
the same to be entered in his accounts 
in any other name than that of the 
person by whom such payment or 
promise of payment is made; (h) every 
person who shall violate any of the 
provisions of sections three, four, or 
five of this act. 

Powers of state referees and judges 
as to inquiries concerning corrupt prac¬ 
tices. Any state referee, any judge of 
the superior court, or the judge of any 
court of common pleas, may, upon the 
written request of any state’s attorney, 
or of the prosecuting attorney of any 
criminal court of common pleas, or of 
the district court of Waterbury, con¬ 
duct an inquiry as to whether any 
crime has been committed concerning 
any matters mentioned in such request, 
within the jurisdiction of such state’s 


19 


attorney or prosecuting attorney mak¬ 
ing such request, and any such referee 
or judge, and any such state’s or prose¬ 
cuting attorney, shall have power, by 
subpoena issued by him, to compel the 
attendance of any person as a witness; 
and such person, having been sworn 
as a witness, may be examined relative 
to any matter under investigation as 
aforesaid. Such referee, judge, or 
attorney shall also have power, by sub¬ 
poena duces tecum issued by him, to 
compel the production for examina¬ 
tion at such inquiry of any books or 
papers or any other thing which he 
may require in the conduct of such in¬ 
quiry. Such referee or judge shall 
have power, by a capias issued by him, 
to cause any person who shall neglect 
or refuse to appear before him as a 
witness, having been duly summoned, 
to be brought before him; and any 
person in attendance as a witness who 
shall refuse to be sworn as a witness, 
or who, being sworn, ‘shall refuse to 
answer any proper question pro¬ 
pounded to him, and any person who, 
having been duly summoned, shall 
neglect or refuse to appear before such 
referee or judge, may be adjudged 
guilty of contempt, and may, by such 
referee or judge, be fined not more 


20 


than twenty-five dollars, or imprisoned 
not more than thirty days, or both. In 
any proceeding held under the pro¬ 
visions of this section, if any witness 
objects to testifying or to producing 
any book, paper, or other thing on the 
ground that such testimony, book, 
paper, or thing may tend to degrade or 
incriminate him or render him liable 
to a penalty or forfeiture, and such 
referee or judge directs or compels 
such witness to testify or to produce 
such book, paper, or thing, he shall not 
be prosecuted for any matter concern¬ 
ing which he has so testified, or evi¬ 
denced by such book, paper, or thing 
so produced, except for perjury com¬ 
mitted in so testifying. 

Preservation of testimony and secur¬ 
ing of witnesses. Such referee, judge, 
state’s attornejq or prosecuting attor¬ 
ney, in the conduct of any such inquiry, 
may, in his discretion, employ a com¬ 
petent stenographer to take notes of 
the examination of any witness or 
witnesses, and cause such stenographic 
notes to be transcribed and furnished 
to any proper* prosecuting officer hav¬ 
ing jurisdiction of the subject-matter 
of such inquiry; and such referee or 
judge may require the attendance and 


21 


assistance, at any such inquiry, and in 
procuring the attendance of witnesses, 
of any sheriff, deputy sheriff, state 
policeman, constable, or police officer, 
who shall be allowed such compensa¬ 
tion as such referee or judge shall 
deem reasonable. 

Expense of inquiry to be returned 
to clerk of the superior court. Such 
referee, judge, state’s attorney, or 
prosecuting attorney shall return to 
the clerk of the superior court of the 
county wherein such inquiry is held, 
an account of all expenses incurred in 
the discharge of the duties herein im¬ 
posed or required, including witness 
fees, and shall indorse the same, if 
correct, or such items thereof as are 
correct, and the sums so indorsed shall 
be paid by the state on an order there¬ 
for by such clerk. 

Sec. io. Penalties. Every person 
who shall violate any of the provisions 
of this act, for the violation of which 
no other penalty is provided, or who 
shall be guilty of any corrupt practice, 
shall be fined not more than one thou¬ 
sand dollars, or imprisoned not more 
than two years, or both; provided, 
however, that this section shall not 
apply to violations of any of the pro- 


22 


visions of section seven or section 
eight of this act. Any person who, 
whether officially or otherwise, do¬ 
nates or uses any money or other valu¬ 
able thing belonging to a private cor¬ 
poration, for political purposes, or as 
director or stockholder votes for or 
sanctions such donation, shall be fined 
not more than one thousand dollars, 
or imprisoned not more than one year, 
or both. The venue for prosecutions 
under this act shall be determined 
either by the place where the wrongful 
act was committed or by the residence 
of the accused as the prosecuting 
officer may elect. 

Sec. ii. Repeal. Chapter 240 of 
the public acts of 1907 and all acts and 
parts of acts inconsistent herewith are 
hereby repealed. 













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